7 reasons why you need a girl’s weekend away

Last weekend a group of friends from home escaped our homes and families for 3 nights of pure bliss….a girl’s weekend! Now these things take planning. They take many, many whats app messages. They take time to plan, lots of text messages and effort that at times make you think “ah stuff it, it would be easier just to stay home” but you know what? WORTH IT TIMES 47 BILLION when you finally get there and enjoy it.

The luxury of TIME in a busy world where time is so precious and we rarely have so little of it for ourselves and for people that we want to see. I spend more time seeing the women at the post office than I do my mates so having it was a gift that I have given myself. I came home relaxed (tired) and my heart and soul filled up. That has to be a good thing right? Thought I’d share my reasons why you need to do this too so you can get planning for the new year. Yes, it can take that long when pulling together a group of more than 2 people who have busy family lives. I think ours took about 8 months to get together and a date decided and still then, people missed out.

1. You get to be the “holiday” version of yourself

Ask anyone in my family and they will tell you just how awesome “holiday Beth” is. She is relaxed. She sometimes doesn’t make the bed. She defo leaves clothes and shite all over the place and is the complete opposite of “everyday Beth” who tidies up and does chores ENDLESSLY. The moment I leave my house and don’t have people to look after, nag, chase after, well its the BEST version of me. I can’t have that version all the time as I would go mad and she is way too lazy, but to tap into for a few days? YES PLEASE.

2. You can eat chocolate for breakfast and cheese for dinner

The fridge was packed with literally just cheese and chocolate and booze. We didn’t even have milk for a cup of tea! And the benches were chips and crackers and chips. It was disgraceful. And so good. My favourite was the blocks of fruit and nut for breakfast (practically granola). I cooked one night (because I am me) but otherwise its a chance to not do one bit of cooking, eating out at places and taking a load off.

3. Day drinking

The ultimate treat for a busy person is indulging in a little day drinking. Especially when you put so many rules around normal every day life (5:2 fasting, no carbs, kept this, no drinking during the week) a little bubbles with hot chips at 12.30pm is perfectly acceptable and makes it feel like holidays!

4. Being somewhere pretty and different from home

There’s nothing like the beauty of our village at home but boy is it nice for a change of scene sometimes. Being near the beach for us was such a treat for a different landscape, temperature and neighbourhood. New places to visit, things to see and do and shop at too!

5. You get to be silly

Being a grown up can be SO BORING. I mean we have to pay rates and save up for things like new tyres for gods sake. To be able to let loose and be stupid and laugh and be silly is a great joy in life and you will be able to do that for days a time. It’s such a release to let off steam and be a younger version of ourselves pretending we don’t have any responsibilities (even just for a moment) is good for the soul.

Everyone gets a bottle of wine from the fridge and returns like this right? Cough.

6. You get to do whatever you want to do

When our lives are so often directed by the people we live with and their demands and needs, to be able to do whatever YOU want is novel and wonderful and indulgent. Want to sleep in? Don’t get up. Want to have the time to go for that walk? Get that active wear on GF and do it. Want to stay in soft pants and pjs and no bra for 2 days? Course you can, just whack some deodorant on ploise. Want to get frocked up and head out to a fancy lunch with make up on because you can have a shower by yourself? DO IT. What a treat.

7. Connecting with your friends

We all have so much going on in our lives, dealing with kids and husbands, families and businesses and we hardly ever get a chance to sit and disect all that. We would come back from the beach and sit down for a cuppa and the next thing you know it would be 3 hours later but we would have listened to the story about that drama that went down a few weeks ago, that worry, that family issue from 16 years ago. Especially with new friends to be able to hear about how they met their partners, how they got engaged, their weddings, all the old stories and memories we take for granted with our oldest friends we have the chance to listen to and love with new friends. And we all know women love the opportunity to chat…this is the time to do it.

We laughed, we cried, we compare electricity bills and internet usage. We talked about worries and anxieties with kids, husbands, joys with work and worries about money. We laughed and dances, drank and ate too much cheese. We went shopping, ate out, ate in, swam in the ocean, walked on the beach, left more tired than when we arrived (who wants to waste time sleeping?) but with happy hearts and memories locked away.

I can’t recommend it highly enough for the tonic for for being a Mum and wife and someone who works to just be YOU again, even for a little bit. Get the diaries out ladies and start planning. It doesn’t have to be fancy (or it can be OS if you want!). Plan it in advance, get that family sorted with your partner or friends or Grandparents and get away. You will never regret it.

Where was your last girls weekend away to?
Got one planned?
Got some extra special memories of one?

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Comments

Oh Beth, thankyou so much for sharing your weekend with us. I am sure it was tempting to completely have a break, but I have loved following along on your weekend. We have an annual weekend away and I missed the last one as I fractured my foot so am going to start planning the next one! They definitely fill the heart and soul.

We’ve been having girls’ weekends away for a few years now, after one of my closest friends lost three of her family members in the space of five years. Friends rallied around and took her away for a weekend of drinking, laughing, crying and general shenanigans. We called ourselves Angels, got t shirts printed and the rest, as they say, is history! We had such a wonderful time that we decided to make it an annual event, one year we even went away twice. We go to different places, hire amazing houses. Our group has fluctuated over the years, sometimes there’s 13 of us, sometimes just 8, but every weekend away has filled me to the brim with gratitude for the special bond we share and the amazing cathartic powers of talking, sharing, crying and being dickheads together. Can’t recommend a weekend away with your lady tribe highly enough.

Inspiring Beth ! Whilst we shouldn’t need a reason some of my friends and my sister have just finished putting their last kid through school and will have $$$ spare to spend on themselves. I think 2019 will be a great time to plan a girls getaway! Time to start doing some research.

Always treasure our annual girls weekend away, we have all been friends (10 of us) for well over 20 years and have been meeting in Noosa for the past 14 years. In fact, my husband planned the surprise inaugural weekend when we moved to Brisbane and it has been a tradition ever since.

Great to read this Beth, I’m off to Budapest on Friday for 3 days (I live in the UK )for my daughter’s hen party!!! 10 of us, mixture of ages, 5* hotel, trips planned including night time bike ride around the city with champagne!!! Top knotch restaurant, karaoke booth booked and this is all on the first day!!! Other highlights will be Xmas Market and night time river cruise. I’m soooooo bloody excited!! Xxx

I am Beth. Just Beth. Although as I have moved to the country I am considering changing my name to Bev. Because I’ve won a blue ribbon at the local show and EVERYTHING. But I guess that’s fast forwarding a little. As Coldplay said, let’s go back to the start.. More about me.